TG4 to air a documentary on Ireland’s homeless crisis this evening

If you're not tuning into the Leo Varadkar vs Micheál Martin debate, this is worth checking out.

A man who spent four months of his life living in his car and the last 18 months in emergency accommodation will be the main focus of the latest episode of Tabú, TG4's documentary series. This season of Tabú will examine topics that include Direct Provision, the increase in allergies in Ireland and being transgender in Ireland, but tonight's episode will examine Ireland's homeless crisis, specifically in Galway. The official synopsis states: "Ireland is in the middle of a housing crisis. Homelessness figures hover circa the 10,000 mark and there appears to be no sign of improvement. With the population of the country growing by roughly a third in the last 30 years, we simply do not have enough dwellings in which to put everyone. While Dublin bears the brunt of this problem, rural homelessness is increasing at a disproportionate rate. "Tabú: Gaillimh gan Dídean examines and observes this crisis in the city and county of tribes to explore a crisis we all see, every day, whether we choose to avert our eyes or not." Last week, a homeless woman in her 20s died in a Dublin hostel and a homeless man was left with life-changing injuries after the tent he was sleeping in was removed by an industrial vehicle. The latest reports showed that Irish homelessness figures increase yet again, reaching a record high in December 2019. As of 3 December 2019, there were a total of 10,514 individuals in emergency accommodation in October. This figure includes 6,688 adults, 1,733 families and 3,826 dependants or children. This marks an increase of 117 people using emergency accommodation compared to the month before. October 2019 represented the first time that the figure for homelessness in Ireland had exceeded 10,500.